Machine for testing type-writer ribbons, &amp;c.



MACHINE FOR TESTING TYPE WRITER RIBBONS, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1912,

hlfififil a Patented May 25, 1915.

' 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 5AMUEL A. NEIDICH S. A. NEIDICH.

MACHINE FOR TESTING TYPE WRITER RIBBONS, ac.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I. 1912.

Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR SAMUEL A. NEIDICH Y E N R O T T A 5 H m SAMUEL A.HEIDI CH, OF EDGEWATER PARK, NEW J EBSEY.

MACHINE FOR TESTING TYPE-WRITER RIBBONS, 8w.

LIMMHZ. Y

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed May 1, 1912. Serial No. 694,483.

- ing Type-\Vritcr Ribbons, &c., of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a machine for making comparative tests oftypewriter or other inking ribbons, carbon papers, or the like, for thepurpose of determining the character or quality of the paper or ribbonfabric, or of the ink with which it is coated or impregnated, or of thedurability, in-

tensity or uniformity of such coating or impregnation. Hereinafter, Iwill, for convenience, refer to the material to be tested as ribbon.

One object of my invention is to so construct such a machine thatthesamples of ribbon to be tested may be subjected to test at one and thesame time and under like conditions and will produce records closelyrelated as to position, so as to permit of proper comparison.

A further object is to provide for the ready application or removal ofthe samples of ribbon to the holder therefor or their removal therefrom,and of the holder to or from the machine.

A further object is to replace the ribbon holder and ribbons, afterremoval from the machine, in exactly the same position with reference tothe types, that they previously :zrcupied, so that the types will strikethe ribbons on identically the same spots as they did before the holderwas removed. This enables the machine to make a comparative test of therecuperation of the inking power of the ribbon, due to the flow of theink in the cloth by capillary attraction.

A still further object is to permit ready access to the variousoperative parts of the machine for the purpose of replacement,inspection or repair, and the removal and reapplication of certainrelated parts of the machine as a unit, and without risk of displacingany of them from their proper relation to the others.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectionof the machine, the section being taken on the line /ra, Fig. 2; Fig. 2is a horizontal section taken on the line 6-4), Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section taken on the line o-c,

Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in horizontalsection, taken on the line d-d, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view ofthe ribbon holder detached from the machine; Fig. 6 is a verticalsectional view of said ribbon holder, the section being taken on theline c--c, Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of said ribbonholder on a larger scale than the other figures.

In the drawings, 1 represents a box-like frame or casing open at thebottom and adapted to be mounted or secured upon a table, bench or otheravailable support, this box also having, in its top, openings for thereception of various working parts of the machine as hereinafterdescribed. In the opposite sides of the box, and in standards 2 securedto or forming part of said sides and projecting above the top of thebox, are formed, or disposed, bearings for a series of shafts 3, 4, 5,6, 7 and 8, the purpose and fllnctlfl'l of which will be hereinafterdescribe The shaft 3 is the driving shaft of the machine and has at oneend a suitable operating handle 3 or other means for imparting rotativemovement thereto, and this shaft carries av drum 9 in whose peripheralface is formed a s iral slot having an abrupt forward face an aninclined rear or cam face, this shaft also having secured to it, at oneend, an eccentric disk 28.

The shaft 4.- constitutes a pivotal mounting for a series of levers,each of which has one arm 10 for being acted upon by the drum 9 andanother arm 1O whose upper end enters a slot 11 in a type bar 12 whichis guided longitudinally in slots formed in front and rear ribs 13 and14 on the top of the box 1, so that it can be reciprocatedlongitudinally therein. The upper end of each lever arm 10 is forked forengagement with a pin 15 crossing the slot 11 in the corresponding typebar 12, so that, as the levers are vibrated back and forth.reciprocating move ment will be imparted to the type bars.

The connection between the type bars and the operating leversconstitutes no particular part of my invention and other operativeconnections between these parts may be substituted for those shown anddescribed Without departing from my invention.

The shaft 5 has mounted upon it, near each end, an arm 16, and the outerends of these arms carry 'a transverse bar '17 to Patented May 25, 1915.

- springs 18 is dependent upon the vertical relation of the bar 17 tothe shaft 4, and this relation may be changed, as desired, by raising orlowering the bar 17 through the medium of a rod 19, which has, at itslower end, an eye for engaging the rod 17 and is threaded at its upperend for the reception of a nut- 20 which bears upon the top of a cap 21resting upon and secured to the guide ribs 13 and 14: on the top of thebox'l.

The opposite ends of the shafts 4 and 5 are mounted, so as to be free toturn, in plugs 22 which have threaded stems screwed into internallythreaded openings in the opposite sides of the box 1 and also haveslotted heads whereby they can be readily turned and thus withdrawn,when desired, so as to free the shafts 4 and 5 and thus permit both ofsaid shafts, and the parts carried thereby, to be removed as a unit andwithout disarrangement of any of said parts. Such removal may beeffected through a suitable opening 23 in the top of the box, afterfirst removing the cap 21, or from the open bottom of the box afterfirst removing the nut .20 from the rod 19. When thus removed,

the parts are open to critical inspection and any part which has becomedefective from any cause can be readily replaced.

The spirally slotted drum 9 is designed for so acting upon the actuatinglevers as to retract and then release the type bars in succession, and,upon such release, the levers are so actuated by the springs 18 as tothrust the type bars forwardly, the forward thrust of the various barsbeing with uniform force, since each of the springs 18 acts withthe sameforce-upon its respective lever arm 10 when the latteris released by thedrum 9.

The shaft 6 carries a roll of paper 24., the.

paper sheet passing upwardly'and around an impression cylinder 25.mounted on the shaft 7 and having a suitable impression surface 26. Thepaper sheet passes between the impression cylinder and a contact roll 27carried by the shaft 8, and the impression cylinder has a step-by-stepforward movement imparted to it by means of the eccentric 28 on theshaft 3, the eccentric strap being secured to'or forming part of a pawl29, which engages with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 30 secured to oneend of the impression cylinder 25, as shown in Fig. 2. The ratchet wheel30 has a hub mounted upon the shaft '7 and the other end of theimpression cylinder has secured to it a plate 31 with a similar hubwhich is secured to the shaft 7 by means of a set screw 32 or othersuitable means, the hubs fitting snugly be tween bosses on the oppositestandards 2 and thereby preventing lateral displacement of theimpression cylinder or of the shaft 7 which carries the same. Byslackening the set screw 32, however, the shaft 7 can be laterallywithdrawn from its bearings and from the cylinder 25, thus freeing thelatter and permitting of its removal for replacement, inspection orrepair, the shaft 7 being preferably provided at one end with a head orknob 7 for facilitating its withdrawal.

The machine is designed, for testing side by side, under equalconditions, two or more samples of ribbon, the tests being directedeither to the ink with which the sample is impregnated or coated, or tothe durability of the ribbon fabric itself, or to the durability,intensity or uniformity of the coating or impregnation. In order toinsure the perfect fairness of such tests-it is desirable that theribbons to be tested shall be held firmly and under appropriate and liketension, between the impression cylinder and the type bars, each of thelatter being furnished at its forward end with a type block 12 or thelike, depending upon the charactor of the impression which is to bemade. I therefore provide a ribbon-carrying bar 32 which has, near itsends, openings for the reception of guide pins 33 extending upwardlyfrom inwardly projecting bosses 34 on the opposite sides of the box 1,so that said ribbon-carrying bar can be readily ap plied to or removedfrom its operative position in the machine and, when in position, I

will always occupy a fixed relation to the other members of the machine.The bar 82 has formed therein as many openings 35 as there may besamples of ribbon to be tested, each opening being adapted for the playof one or more type bars.

The machine shown in the drawings is intended for the testing of but twosamples and the type bars are arranged in groups of four each, but itwill be evident that the ribbon-carrying bar may be constructed for thereception of more than two samples, that there may be a correspondingnumber of groups of type bars. that the groups may consist of less thanfour bars, and that, if desired, but a single type bar may be used inconnection with each sample, the idea of using the type bars in groupsbeing to test throughout substantially the entire width of each sample,the quality of the fabric and of the ink with which it is coated orimpregnated in order to determine the uniformity of the fabric and theuniform distribution of'the ink throughout the sample.

At each end of each of the openings 35 in the ribbon-carrying bar 32 isa recess 36 for the reception of a ribbon clamping bar 37 which ispivoted at its lower end to a rod 38 extending from end to end of thebar 32, each of these clamping plates having secured Each of the samplesto be tested is long enough to cross its respective opening 35 in thebar 32 and overlap the recess 36 at each side of said opening. Theclamping bars 37 being thrown back, the samples are laid.

upon the face of the bar 32, each sample overlying its respectiveopening 35 and adjoining recesses 36, and the adjoining ends of thesamples overlying one another. The clamping bars 37 are then closed andretained by their clips 4C0 so as to firmly retain the samples on thebar 32, each under a proper degree of tension.

By overlapping the samples at the center of the carrier and providing asingle clamp and recess at that point for the retention of both samplesthe lateral dimensions of the machine and its operative parts arematerially reduced as compared with a machine having independent clampsfor each end' of each sample.

As the shaft 3 is turned the successive type bars deliver their blowssuccessively uponthe samples on the carrier 32, and thus form a row ofimpressions upon the paperlying between said samples and the impressionsurface of the cylinder 25 and while the type bars are quiescent, in theintervals between their operative movements, the impression cylinder isadvanced one step by the pawl and ratchet mechanism so as to present afresh surface of paper for receiving the next row of impressions.

The impressions produced from one sample are displayed side by side andin close proximity to those produced from the other sample andconsequently comparisons of said impressions can be made under the bestpossible conditions. v

The pawl 29 is maintained in constant engagement with the teeth of theratchet wheel 30 by means of a spring IQ-bearing upon the under side ofsaid pawl and contained in a recess in an inwardly projecting stud 43 onone of the side walls ofthe box 1, as shown in Fig. 1.

When the holder is removed from the machine, in order to allow theribbon to recuperate, other holders may be used in the machine fortesting other ribbons. In this waya great number of ribbons may betested until exhausted of their ink in the spot struck by the type,whereupon they can be removed, in their holders, from the machine toallow for the testing of other ribbons in other-holders, and afterresting or seasoning for a predetermined time, the ribbons may again beretested, the types striking on identically the same spots on thevarious ribbons on the second and sub sequent testings that they didwhen the ribbons were first tested.

When the machine is to be used for testing the comparative durabilityand intensity of the inking of ribbons, the impression surface of thecylinder 25 may be conveniently covered with a rubber compound similarto that used in the platens of typewriters. When testing the strength ofthe cloth,

or its ability to resist the cutting action of I the blows of the type,the surface of the cylinder is preferably of brass or other metal.

I claim: 1. The combination, in a machine for test ing inking ribbons orthe like, of means for retaining two or more ribbons immovable side byside, means for striking uniform blows from type upon such ribbons, and

means for feeding paper between such blows, so that the impressions fromsuch ribbons shall appear side by side and one after another.

2. The combination, in a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like,of type bars, means for operating the same, a removable sample holder,clamps for securing a plurality of inked ribbon samples fixedly inposition on said holder, and means for removing and replacing the holderin exact.

position Without disturbing the samples so that successive blows fromthe same type will strike identical spots on the samples before removaland after replacement of the holder.

3. The combination, in a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like,of a holder for a plurality of samples, means including a plurality oftype for striking blows upon such samples. and means for adjusting thestrength of the blows of the various types collectively Without alteringthe strength of the blows with reference to each other.

4. The combination, in a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like,of laterallyseparat'ed type bars, a suitable impression surface, aninterposed ribbon carrier having separated openings for the operation ofsaid type bars, and means for confining to said carrier a plurality ofsamples to be tested, each sample crossing one of the openings of thecarrier and being retained in place at such end of said opening.

5. In a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like, a sample-carrierconsisting of a unitary structure having separated openings side by sidetherein over which are placed the samples to be tested, each openinghaving at each end means for clamping the samples in position thereon.

6. In a. machine for testing inking ribbons or the like, asample-carrier consisting of a unitary structure having separatedopenings side by side therein over which are placed the samples to betested, the carrier having, at each end of each opening, a recess and aclamping bar for confining one end of a sample in said recess.

7. In a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like, a sample-carrierhaving therein a plurality of openings disposed side by side with aseparating bar between them, said carrier having means for confining theouter end of each sample thereto and the separating bar having means forclamping thereto the overlapping ends of adjoining samples.

' 8. In a machine for testing inking ribbons and the like, asample-carrier having therein a plurality of openings side by side and aplurality of sample-clamping bars one at each end of each opening, saidbars being pivoted to the carrier so as to swing into and out ofclamping position, and each bar being provided with a spring clip forretaining it in clamping position.

- 9. In a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like, thecombination of the type-baroperating levers, a shaft carrying saidlevers, and movable'plugs on which said shaft is mounted, whereby, onWithdrawing the said plugs, the shaft and its levers can be withdrawn asa unit from the machine.

said plugs the spring mechanism and its shaft can be removed as a unitfrom the machine.

11. In a machine for testing inking ribbons or the like, the combinationof a shaft,

carrying type-bar-operating levers, a shaft carrying spring mechanismwhich acts upon said levers, and movable plugs supporting said shafts,whereby when said plugs are removed from engagement with the shafts, thelatter, and the lever and spring mechanism carried thereby, can beremoved from the machine as a unit.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL A. NEIDIGH.

Witnesses:

ELsm FULLERTON, Jos. H. KLEIN.

